Pallet



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April 12, 1955 GE. WHALLEY PALLET 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 21, 1950 INVENTORI GEORGE E.

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7 fTTORNEjZ United States Patent PALLET George E. Whalley, Birmingham, Mich., assignor to Gaylord Container Corporation, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Maryland Application April 21, 1950, Serial No. 157,197

9 Claims. (Cl. 248-120) This invention relates to portable platforms ordinarily referred to as pallets or skids for handling, transporting and storing a wide variety of materials within manufacturing plants, and for shipment by rail, truck and other means to and within the plants of distributors and consumers of such materials.

The use of pallets has long been recognized as a means of reducing the cost of packaging, handling, storing and shipping wide varieties of commodities. Pallets of suitable design and cost offer a means of reducing costs wherever lift trucks and similar equipment are employed. Widespread use however has been retracted by the initial cost and relatively high weight of the materials employed in their construction. The weight of wood pallets, for example, involves substantial additional expense in the handling and transportation of the commodities. Reuse of the pallets as a means of offsetting the initial capital investment is but a partial remedy, since the return transportation expense materially reduces the savings, so that the overall potential advantages and economies are largely dissipated.

Another objection to the current types is the space required for storing the empty pallets. A nestable type would largely solve this problem. Attempts to provide lightweight expendable pallets, sufliciently low in cost to warrant one trip use have not been successful due largely to the unsatisfactory performance of pallets of this type.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide an expendable pallet capable of carrying commodity loads in excess of the maximum capacity of the average lift truck without collapse or appreciable vertical or lateral deflection or distortion.

Another object is to provide pallets which may be nested and occupy a minimum of storage space.

Still another object is to provide a pallet with sufficient clearance between the floor and platform to adapt it for four-way use by both high and low fork type lift trucks, i. e. from both ends and both sides.

Another object is to provide pallets having platforms .of the most desirable shape for stacking specific types lof commodities, such as rectangular, square, oval, circuar, etc.

The invention comprises a platform of fibreboard or other suitable material and means for securely attaching supporting legs to the underside thereof spaced at suitable distances for distributing the superimposed commodity load fairly uniformly over the supporting legs.

The invention also consists in the parts and in the arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed. In the accompanying drawings which form part of this specification and wherein like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the platform for this new device,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a supporting leg,

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the assembled pallet,

1 Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a modified supporting eg, 1 Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a series of supporting egs,

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of still another modified form of supporting leg,

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the supporting leg shown in Fig. 6,

Fig. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the sup- "ice porting leg shown in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 shown assembled with a platform,

Figures 9 through 13 are bottom perspective views of modified forms of this invention, and

Fig. 14 is a vertical cross-sectional view of still another modified form of this invention.

In the preferred form of the invention, illustrated in Fig. 1 through Fig. 3 of the drawings, the pallet comprises a platform 1 made of corrugated or solid fiberboard or other suitable material having circular die cut holes 2 therein, which platform 1 is positioned flatwise above a retaining sheet 3 having circular die cut holes 4 therein, and supporting legs 5 having a flange 6 therein, said supporting legs 5 projecting downwardly through the circular die cut holes 4 in the retaining sheet 3 with the flanges 6 of the supporting legs 5 lying be tween the platform 1 and the retaining sheet 3. The platform 1 is secured to the retaining sheet 3 by staples, adhesives or any other suitable means (not shown), thereby securing the supporting legs 5 in a suitable predetermining spaced position since the die cut holes 4 in retaining sheet 3 are positioned to distribute the commodity load equally on the supporting legs 5.

As shown in the drawings, the preferred type of supporting leg 5 comprises a hollow truncated cone which permits nesting of the legs of pallets assembled one above the other thus reducing storage space requirements to a minimum. This type of supporting leg 5 is provided with a flange 6 at its upper edge to prevent cutting, penetration or other damage to the platform 1 by the Walls of the supporting legs 5. In cases where the pallets are to be nested die cut holes 2 are provided in the platform 1 in registering relationship with the die cut holes 4 in the retaining sheet 3.

The supporting legs 5 may be made of metal, wood, plastic or other material capable of meeting the load requirements for the specific commodity for which the pallets are designed. The top and base are preferably circular, the former being somewhat greater than the latter to provide for the nesting of the legs. The flanges 6 may be of any desired width but in general should not be less than the order of about one half inch to avoid the possibility of damage to the platform 1 under load, to support the platform 1 over a relatively large area and to prevent the supporting leg 5 from falling out of the die cut holes 4 in the retaining sheet 3. The length of the supporting legs 5 is governed by the clearance above the floor level required for the forks of the lift trucks. This is usually of the order of four inches.

Other forms of supporting legs 5 may also be employed. For example, they may be cylindrical, square, or any other shape desired for accomplishing the purpose of carrying the commodity load for which the pallet is designed, provided the flanges 6 are of sufiicient width to prevent perforation or cutting of the platform 1 and to prevent the supporting legs 5 from falling from the retaining sheet 3. Other shapes include a substantially U-shape member as shown in Fig. 4, and a continuous strip of U-shaped members extending substantially the length of the retaining sheet 3 as shown in Fig. 5 and which cooperate with rectangular holes in the platform 1. This latter form has the advantage of providing an additional three inch support for the platform 1 between each supporting leg 5 and is probably less expensive than the cup form and can be attached to the platform as readily or with even greater facility.

Another form of supporting leg 5 is shown in Figures 6 through 8. This form of supporting leg 5 comprises a fluted hollow truncated cone having a flange 6a thereon with slots 7 therein forming lips 8 in the flange 6a. The lips 8 are bent upwardly, inserted in cooperating slots or in the holes 2 in the platform 1, and then bent downwardly on the upper face of the platform 1 to secure the supporting leg 5 thereto. This type of supporting leg 5 is designed primarily for use with heavy platform material. such as Masonite and the like, and eliminates the necessity for a retaining sheet 3. While somewhat more expensive than the other forms, it has advantages for special purposes such as palletizing very heavy commodities. It may also be adapted to be used withpaper board platforms if desired.

In the modified form of this invention shown in Fig. 9, the supporting legs 5 may be anchored to the platform 1 by individual die cut pads 3a secured to the platform 1 in any suitable manner as a substitute for the retaining sheet 3. In this form of the invention the pads 3a are located on the under face of the platform 1 in predetermined spaced relationship determined by the character of the load to be carried.

For relatively small pallets, the retaining element may be formed from marginal flaps 3!; on the ends of the platform 1 which are folded downwardly and inwardly as shown in Fig. 10.

The platform 1 or the retaining sheet 3 or both may be made of any suitable material other than fiberboard Without departing from the scope of the invention.

As shown in Fig. 11 and Fig. 12, relatively large containers 9 may be palletized by making a retaining sheet from the bottom cover flaps 30 thereof to receive and retain the supporting legs 5, thus eliminating the retaining sheet. If desired, containers of this class may also be palletized by attaching a retainer sheet 3, as shown in Fig. 13, to the bottom of the container 9 by adhesives or other means, the retainer sheet 3 being of the same dimensions as the bottom of the container 9.

As shown in Fig. 14, the supporting legs 5 may be of graduated height so that the platform 1 is at an angle to the surface on which it is resting. This eliminates the supporting legs 5 at one end of the pallet.

The various types of supporting legs 5 may, if desired, be provided with a small hole in the base for inserting a wire, bolt or other means for conveniently packaging nested lots for storage, or return for re-use, etc.

The pallet of this invention has many practical advantages. It may be constructed of such inexpensive materials that substantially all of the potential savings inherent in the principle of palletizing commodities of various kinds for transporting, handling and storing may be realized.

The cost of the pallet for example is but one fourth to one fifth that of a wooden pallet of comparable dimensions, while the weight thereof may be ten pounds or less, which compares with the weight of wood construction of from 50 to 125 pounds.

The additional freight on carload shipments of palletized materials due to the weight of the pallets is reduced to a negligible factor even on the lowest classes of commodities.

The pallets are sturdy, and may be re-used many times if desired. While designed primarily as a one trip or expendable pallet, because of the very light weight they may be re-shipped for return use at very little transportation expense.

Utmost flexibility of construction of the elements to economically meet the palletizing requirements of a wide variety of materials, single or multiple packaged commodities of diverse weights and shapes, is inherent in the invention and may be employed without departing from the scope thereof.

What I claim is:

1. A pallet comprising upper and lower complemental members, the latter including a retaining sheet with spaced apart supporting legs depending therefrom, the

legs defining spaces therebetween adapted to receive a device for lifting the pallet, said retaining sheet having a series of openings therein, said legs consisting of a flange portion and depending portions, the flange portion being connected directly to and extending outwardly at substantially a right angle from, integral with and in substantially the same plane as the upper end edges of each leg, the lower surfaces of the flange portions of the legs engaging the surface of the retaining sheet adjacent the openings therein, said depending portions of the legs extending into and beyond the openings and the lower part thereof serving to engage a supporting surface, and the upper member being positioned over and secured against the retaining sheet and engaging the upper surfaces of said flange portions to maintain the legs in fixed position with respect to same and the retaining sheet.

2. A pallet as defined in and by claim 1 wherein the upper member has openings therein and which openings are in registry with the openings in the retaining sheet, whereby the pallets may be stacked by disposing the depending portions of the legs into and through the registered openings of a similarly formed subjacent pallet.

3. A pallet as defined in and by claim 1 wherein the supporting depending legs are in the form of hollow cuplike members and the flange substantially continuously surrounds the upper portion of the member and is connected directly to and extends outwardly at substantially a right angle therefrom.

4. A pallet as defined in and by claim 1 wherein the supporting depending legs are substantially U-shaped and the flange portions are connected directly to and extend outwardly at substantially right angles from the top edges of the legs.

5. A pallet as defined in and by claim 1 wherein the said upper member is a component of the bottom structure of a carton.

6. A pallet as defined in and by claim 1 wherein the said lower member is a component of the bottom structure of a carton.

7. A pallet as defined in and by claim 1 wherein the said upper and lower members are both components of the bottom structure of a carton.

8. A pallet as defined in and by claim 1 wherein there are a plurality of retaining sheets each of which has at least one opening therein, and each of the said retaining sheets being aflixed to the underside of the upper member.

9. A pallet as defined in and by claim 1 wherein the retaining sheet and the upper member are integral with each other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 102,398 Hibbs Apr. 26, 1870 1,643,735 Baker Sept. 27, 1927 1,934,389 Ulsh Nov. 7, 1933 2,432,501 Belanger Dec. 16, 1947 2,463,214 Stoner Mar. 1, 1949 2,507,588 Brandon et al May 16, 1950 2,544,657 Cushman Mar. 13, 1951 2,610,735 Ferguson Sept. 16, 1952 

